3 Ways An ID Theft Can Affect Your Credit Score

Guest Post by Jon. Identity theft is a terrible crime that I would not wish on anyone. But this crime is only getting worse and we need to be more proactive than ever to make sure our identities are safe and our private information is kept private. Many do not realize how much your credit score can be effected by an ID theft. Below I have listed the 3 different ways that your credit score can be tanked by simply being a victim of personal identity theft.

3 Ways an ID Theft Can Affect Your Credit Score

1. Unpaid bills. The identity thief opens a new credit card account in your name and then charges as much as he can onto it. Do you think he is going to make payments on these charges? I don’t’ think so. And with every missed payment your credit score is going to plummet. Sadly, this is one of the ways people find out that their identity has been compromised, but at this point most of the damage has already been done to your credit. It can take a while to recover, and since 35% of your credit score is made up of timely payments, any unpaid bills can be a serious blow to that number.
2. Debt to income ratio. Because an ID thief can use your name and social security number to open a number of loans, your debt to income ratio may be seriously affected. When you are applying for a mortgage the lender will look at this information and if it looks like you have a lot of debt compared to your income levels, it will be much harder if not impossible to get approval for the loan. Having an identity protection service will help you to get rid of these fraudulent loans so you can improve this ratio and move on with your life, whether that means buying a new house or a new car.
3. Inability to open future accounts. One way you can help improve your credit score is to start building your credit back up with small credit card accounts and making timely payments. But often when your identity is compromised you will not be able to open any accounts until the situation has been rectified. And the inability to open any new accounts will really hamper your ability to improve that credit score number in the near future.

It can take some time to get your credit score back to where it needs to be, but it will take some patience and effort on your part. That is why I recommend that everyone has a solid ID theft protection service to help with the recovery. It is worth the extra $10 a month even if it is just to get your life back together and not spend every waking hour on the telephone trying to haggle with a credit card company.

Your credit is important and needs to be protected. A bad credit score will affect how much you pay every month on your house, car, boat, and any other major purchase for which you need a loan.

Jon is a writer for www.SafeIdentityProtection.com where you can review the best ID Protection services and compare prices to see which one is a better fit for you. You can also get a lot of helpful advice about protecting your ID from thieves to ensure you keep a good credit score.

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